What an awful weekend for Arsenal! They have potential injury added to insiult, as midfield maestro Martin Odegaard could not complete the full 90 minutes in the 2-0 loss to Aston Villa. Odegaard has an unspecified injury issue, and he’s a strong doubt, at minimum, for Wednesday night’s UCL Quarterfinal second leg at Bayern Munich.
Unai Emery certainly exacted some revenge on the club that once sacked him, as his side’s win over Arsenal knocked the Gunners out of first place.
Arsenal FC vs Bayern Munich FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Apr. 17, 8pm, Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
Competition: Champions League Quarterfinal Leg 2/2, Aggregate 2-2
Team News: Arsenal FC Bayern Munich
Starting XI Prediction: Arsenal FC Bayern Munich
90 Min Result Probability: Arsenal FC 34% Extra Time 26% Bayern Munich 40%
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Arsenal Team News
Now Arsenal are a bit behind the eight ball in both of the major competitions. Manchester City has assumed a two point lead over the North Londoners at the top of the Premier Leaguer table. And here in the UCL, they enter the road leg of their tie evened up, which is suboptimal. You really wanted to hold serve at home, and take a goal advantage of some sort, on aggregate, from the home leg.
At least the squad is very close to fully fit. Jurrien Timber is the only confirmed injury absentee, and he’s not that far off.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.